Harkin: I Would Not Have Made Decision To Extend Individual Plans

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said Thursday that he would not have have made the same decision as President Obama to allow insurers to renew canceled individual market plans through 2014.

"If it had been up to me, I am not certain I would have made this decision, but the President felt it was important to do," Harkin said in a statement. "My hope, however, is that everyone who has received a cancellation notice will fully and carefully consider their options."

Harkin said that the canceled plans typically don't give consumers the best coverage.

"In the vast majority of cases, they will find that the coverage that they were paying good money for is not worth the paper it was printed on," he said. "If they go to the marketplace, however, they can get quality coverage – in some cases paying a little more, perhaps, but getting many more benefits."